Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
Interviews, long-form features, columns, and investigations
Attended an amateur fight card in an old barn in 1996. I started attending pro shows in 2000.
On Saturday, the city will unite once more behind one of their own, when Lewis Crocker fights Paddy Donovan for the vacant IBF welterweight title, writes Tris Dixon.
On Saturday night, with 20,000 fans screaming inside Belfast's Windsor Park, many of them cheering for opponent Lewis Crocker, all will be quiet to Paddy Donovan.
“Neither guy will ever experience what they’re about to experience Saturday,” Eddie Hearn said of the Lewis Crocker-Paddy Donovan rematch. “It’s going to be fucking mental."
Manager Jamie Conlan initially urged Lewis Crocker to “look forward” after his March loss to Paddy Donovan, but Crocker held fast and now a world-title rematch awaits.
"I just think the bond that me and Billy have is different," says Lewis Crocker.
Katie Taylor dazzled when winning her trilogy fight against Amanda Serrano in New York in July, but she is biding her time before making a decision about her future.
"They’ve ducked MJ for over a year, and in the end, I’ve just goaded him enough to do it," said Hearn this afternoon in Belfast.
“This is a world class fight between two guys in their prime,” said promoter Eddie Hearn.
"I know the way Lewis is, I know the man he is, and I’m going to end Crocker’s career on Saturday night,” said Paddy Donovan this afternoon.
Long before he was a promising professional prospect, Aaron Bowen was cutting his teeth sparring with the likes of former world champion James DeGale, who he says showed him just how much he still had to learn.
